Saturday, June 18, 2011

Dog Days

Growing up, one of the sweetest dogs I knew was a Pit Bull named Oliver. So I was pleased to find via Yahoo a photographic reminder that the Pit Bull was not always the feared dog it is these days. Apparently in the late 19th and early 20th Century, the Pit Bull was even known as "The Nanny Dog" because of its steadfastness and reliability.

This is a case where photographic evidence presents the most convincing proof. And the further you dig, the more supporting data you find. So here just a few images in defense of the breed.

In 2006, Malcolm Gladwell wrote about pit bulls and profiling, at one point quoting expert Randall Lockwood:

"... I don't think I even saw my first pit-bull case until the middle to late nineteen-eighties, and I didn't start seeing Rottweilers until I'd already looked at a few hundred fatal dog attacks. Now those dogs make up the preponderance of fatalities. The point is that it changes over time. It's a reflection of what the dog of choice is among people who want to own an aggressive dog."

We have a Staffordshire bull terrier that we rescued from Battersea dogs home and like Pitt bulls are fiercely loyal. Ours has shown patience well over and above the line of duty with our 10 year old who treats him like a rag doll, he loves it too! Any malice they show is a result of poor upbringing and not of their breed so thank you for these wonderful images.

"If only all blogs were as life-affirming and tender-hearted as that of gallerist James Danziger. Whether his focus falls on the work of an individual artist or a particular theme, The Year in Pictures is compulsive reading."